Maleficia -- Secret Craft of Witchcraft + Ravenloft 5e Hexblood
by Marc SaindonContinuing on the Halloween theme, one thing to consider is that while Glantri has interesting secret crafts, the Witchcraft one was a bit in need of better definement as a concept, to the point it was recycled as the Secret Craft of Wokanism in 2e. Witchcraft as a label might work fine for the women of Belcadiz, but Wokanism is 'monster magic' that works as a label for the Secret Craft that Kol would be leading if he had one. And witchcraft might be a confusing term for magic-using, which is already very present in Glantri, the Kingdom of Magic (which isn't a Kingdom); it make keep the craft covert, but players might want some more clarity.
Let's keep Belcadiz. Let's call the Secret Craft like "Maleficia" (yep, stole that from White Wolf, Dark Ages Companion). So Maleficia as a Secret Craft has its origin retconned with the latina elves making deals with Crones and Unseelie Fae in exchange for dark magic thay they eventually refine as a Secret Craft proper. The Erewan Elves know about this, and while they don't make it public, it drives a considerable wedge between the two sides.
A second retcon is to include Hexblood Lineage as a potential taint resulting from dabbling too much into Maleficia (Glantri already has the Progeny, "mutants", as a precedent to somewhat justify this). Darkvision, already too common, could be replaced by an Acute sense of smell (like the witch detecting children by smell in the Hocus Pocus movie). Mutations and deformaties caused by Hexblood lineage and Maleficia should be hidden, which causes many (richer) Witches to wear elaborate carnival porcelain masks, heavy makeup, strange hair dyes, or masquerade disguises, which in turn causes them to be fashionable in Belcadiz society and beyond.
(pic from: https://www.deviantart.com/jasonengle/art/Witch-s-Cauldron-846055312)